Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-06-15
HOW FOLKS LIVE IN LAURENS.

The oldest looking negro that l remem-
Der seeing, was old Phil Pitts. In
the first place, his body was bent almost
double, so that he was Just about the same
height when sitting down as when stand
ing up. Phil's head was thoroughly bald
all over, and sleek as q turnip and about as
round. The only apology for hair was a
narrow ring around the back part of the
head, about on a level with the ears, and
was about as white as any wool that ever
grew anywhere. In addition to these
evidences of age, the whole neighborhood
for many miles around was stocked with
Phil's descendants, all the way down to
the fifth generation. I think it was in
1861 that / received a call to 60 and see
Phil, as he was very sick. went, though
fully persuaded that it was useless, as l
doubted not, that in the regular course of
nature, Phil's time had come to die of old
age; but, in spite of my gloomy prognos-
tications, Phil, after a few days, got bet
ter, anil l dismissed him. Only a few
days after this, one of Phil's numerous
grand-sons rode up to my gate and called
for me:
"I'se come after you agin."
"What," said l, "has old Phil got
worse"
mo, sir, he's doin' mighty well now,
but his daddy's SICK"
His daddy"
eyes, sir, his daddy and nanny come
to see him t'other day, and de ole man
got SICK"
Well, I went, still thinking that there
must be some mistake but when l got
there I soon found there was no mistake.
It was indeed Phil's veritable father and
mother, who had walked several miles
to see their sick SON.. The old lady was
plump, hale and hearty, and said she was
one hundred and four years old. She said
she did not know how old her husband
fold Martin) was, but he was a few years
older than herself. Old Martin himself
was too bad off to question, and in a few
days passed away, leaving a ~disconsolate
widow and a numerous progeny to mourn
his untimely taking off. am aware that
this is too serious a matter to make joke
of, and I only tell it because 1 know there
are a great many still living in the neigh
borhoOd of Clinton who will remember
old Phil. In fact, for all I know, he may
be living yet.-Joe Prince in Clinton Ad-
v~ertiser.
UBIQUITOUS INsECTs.-Queerer still than
the caterpillars which pretend to be leaves
or flowers for the sake of protection are
those truly diabolical and perfidious Bra
lillian spiders, which, as Mr.. Bates OBJ
served, are brilliantly colored with GRIM
son and purple, but "double themselves
up at the base of leaf stalks, so as to resem-
bic flower buds, and thus deceive the in
sects on which they prey" There is
something hideeusly wicked and cruel in
this lowest depth of initiative infamy. A
flower bud is something SO innocent and
childlike; and to disguise oneself as such
for purposes of murder and rapine argues
the final abyss of %arachnoid peridy. An
Indian mantis. or preying insect, a little
less wicked, though no less cruel, than the
spiders, deceives the flies which come to
his arms under the false pretense of being
a quiet leaf, upon which they might light
in safety for rest and refreshment. Yet
another abandoned member of the same
family, relying boldly upon the resources
of tropical nature, gets itself up as a COM
plete orchid, the head and fangs being
nodded in the exact image ofthe beautiful
blossom, and the arms folding treacher-
ously around the unhappy insect which
ventures to seek for honey in its deceptive
jaw.-C0rnhiW Magazine.
EXTINCT CRArERs IN New MExIco.-